监测人类的压力水平变得越来越重要,鉴于最近与压力相关的心理健康障碍的趋势,生活方式的影响,和慢性生理疾病。长期暴露在压力下会引起焦虑和抑郁,心脏病,和危险的行为,比如吸毒和酗酒。生物标志物分子可以在生物流体中定量以研究人类应激。皮质醇,具体来说,是肾上腺产生的激素生物标志物,其生物流体浓度与人类的压力水平直接相关。快速,皮质醇的实时检测对于压力管理和预测心理和身体疾病的发作是必要的。目前的方法,包括质谱和免疫测定,对敏感的皮质醇定量有效。然而,这些技术仅提供单个测量,这在连续监测压力水平方面构成了挑战。此外,这些分析方法通常需要训练有素的人员来操作昂贵的仪器。或者,低成本电化学生物传感器能够实时检测和连续监测皮质醇水平,同时还提供足够的分析优值(例如,灵敏度,选择性,传感器响应时间,检测限,和再现性)在一个简单的设计平台。本文讨论了用于检测人体生物流体中皮质醇的电化学生物传感器设计的最新进展。特别强调生物传感器识别元件,包括抗体,分子印迹聚合物(MIP),和适体,作为用于皮质醇检测的电化学生物传感器的关键组件。此外,概述了各种电化学技术和传感技术在复杂生物流体基质中的优势和限制因素。提供了有关用于压力监测的电化学生物传感器的当前挑战和未来观点的评论,包括基质效应(pH依赖性和生物干扰),可穿戴性,和大规模生产。
The monitoring of stress levels in humans has become increasingly relevant, given the recent incline of stress-related mental health disorders, lifestyle impacts, and chronic physiological diseases. Long-term exposure to stress can induce anxiety and depression, heart disease, and risky behaviors, such as drug and alcohol abuse. Biomarker molecules can be quantified in biological fluids to study human stress. Cortisol, specifically, is a hormone biomarker produced in the adrenal glands with biofluid concentrations that directly correlate to stress levels in humans. The rapid, real-time detection of cortisol is necessary for stress management and predicting the onset of psychological and physical ailments. Current methods, including mass spectrometry and immunoassays, are effective for sensitive cortisol quantification. However, these techniques provide only single measurements which pose challenges in the continuous monitoring of stress levels. Additionally, these analytical methods often require trained personnel to operate expensive instrumentation. Alternatively, low-cost electrochemical biosensors enable the real-time detection and continuous monitoring of cortisol levels while also providing adequate analytical figures of merit (e.g., sensitivity, selectivity, sensor response times, detection limits, and reproducibility) in a simple design platform. This review discusses the recent developments in electrochemical biosensor design for the detection of cortisol in human biofluids. Special emphasis is given to biosensor recognition elements, including antibodies, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), and aptamers, as critical components of electrochemical biosensors for cortisol detection. Furthermore, the advantages and limiting factors of various electrochemical techniques and sensing in complex biofluid matrices are overviewed. Remarks on the current challenges and future perspectives regarding electrochemical biosensors for stress monitoring are provided, including matrix effects (pH dependence and biological interferences), wearability, and large-scale production.